Sunday, May 1, 2016

B is for Buzzzzzy Bees

They
have arrived!!!

The bee
hive of 2016 has arrived in my little secret garden in West Philly.
Yesterday I picked up one package of bees (3-4lbs of worker bees (approx.
10,000) and one queen with attendants) out in beautiful Blue Bell, PA. I wasn't
sure what to expect. I thought at most there would be 20 - 25 people picking up
a few packages. Ha! Try at least 100 people, some picking up 3 or 4 packages! I
had no idea.

That is
just one of the rows and rows of bee packages that filled a two car garage. I have to say, it was a tidy operation. A wonderful email came warning us to beware of the
"Guard Goose" and advised to just hiss back if she 'comes after you'.
There was a demonstration of how to install the package. I heard three
different recipes for the correct proportions of water and sugar to make the
right syrup to feed the bees. Very quickly and efficiently I accepted my
package of humming ladies, put them in my car, and serenaded them with Peter
Gabriel on the 45 minute drive back to West Philadelphia. (And because
Philadelphia is a tiny tiny world, of course I ran into someone I know.)

I
purchased the new hive about a month ago and have anxiously been prepping and
studying in hopes of doing this bee-keeping thing myself. There is a lot
more I need to learn. I have 26lbs of sugar in the pantry, a new pair of
bee gloves, and hive tool. I still need to make my bee hat. As crafty as I am,
I should be able to whip something up and save the $25. That way I can
purchase my own frames and supers. Ha - check out the beekeeper lingo! Supers are
the boxes, the frames fit inside, and the bees "draw out" the combs
and put honey and stuff (larva) in there.

To keep
the bees from starving when they first arrive and are cleaning out the the old
frames and learning the lay of the land, the bee keeper has to give them food.
In this case the easiest is straight sugar water.

That is
a 128oz jar of sugar water next to a pint mason jar. That's a lot of sugar
water. It's a good thing there is a way to keep the bees from starving though.
While yesterday was a beautiful day, gorgeous sun, not too hot, today was awful
and rainy all day. I did not see a one of my ladies today. This makes me
anxious that they all flew away in the night or worse, drowned. I can
only wait until tomorrow to see what happens when I get home.

There
was one member of the family who was not so thrilled about the return of the
bees. Jacques kept his distance from the hive and anxiously watched it for the
rest of the afternoon from the safety of half a box.

I also watched from the deck.

Last weekend I started replanting the more than
100 sunflower seeds I sowed.

I planted a lot of other things as well, zinnias, marigolds, kale
cosmos, basil, and nasturtiums. The nasturtiums were ready to go right into the ground.

Then Miss Mary came over and helped me and we made better progress before it
got too cold to sit outside.

While
Jacques and I watched the bees yesterday we finished all of the sunflowers. I
also transplanted some of the basil. But there are still a lot to move. Maybe
the weather will be better tomorrow.

Update on May 2nd: I had a bit of internet trouble yesterday so the post is finally finished today. This evening we had some sun and the bees were out flying around and it looked as though they were cleaning their new home. What a relief!It is supposed to be rainy the next few days, but if all goes well, I should be able to let the queen out of her little box on Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

About Me

i am a 42 year old ~ native californian ~ pronounce my name tar-a, not terra ~ moved to Philadelphia to go to grad school ~ ride my bike to work ~ am an artist, teacher, and book conservator ~ two cats Jacques and Swee'pea who will make many appearances I'm sure